Three Party (Warriors 131, Hornets 121)

Something happened on the way to another blowout Warriors loss. Maybe it was playing two big men for almost the entire second half after getting brutally out-rebounded in the first. Then again, maybe it was catching fire from three-point land after watching shots repeatedly clank earlier in the game. The tougher defense around the rim certainly didn’t hurt the Warriors’ chances. The same goes for Monta Ellis’ selfless, purposeful distribution of the ball. And Don Nelson made a fantastic coaching call benching Corey Maggette, who sleepwalked through his 24 minutes. I’m not entirely sure how those parts add up to the massive comeback that rocked the Arena Wednesday night. But whatever forces combined to produce the Warriors’ rousing victory, it produced a potent burst of energy.

Games like Wednesday night’s win over the Hornets are fun, plain and simple. Shots falls, underdogs triumph, confetti falls to the floor and everyone goes home happy. In a season of ugly, demoralizing losses, we all deserve to enjoy more games like this one. I’d enjoy it more if it didn’t result in Indiana gaining a game on us in this season’s race to the bottom, or if I had more faith Nelson would play line-ups like this when he has other smalls available on his bench, but putting aside those gripes the Warriors pulled off quite a turnaround.

The story of the Warriors’ success isn’t all that complicated:

After getting destroyed on the boards for much of the first half, Don Nelson adjusted at halftime and started two bigs. That didn’t stop the bleeding, however, with the Warriors going down by as many as 21 points. Things bottomed out with around 5 minutes to go in the third quarter. At the 4:39 mark, Nelson subbed George for Maggette at small forward — sticking with two bigs — and the frantic comeback run began. In place of Maggette’s non-existent rebounding, open-court turnovers and stagnant isolation, George brought fundamentals like boxing out, unselfish passing and plain hustle. It was the best I’ve seen him look in a Warriors uniform, particularly when contrasted against the performance Maggette had turned in before him. After getting beaten up on the boards and on defense, Nelson gave up offense in favor of defense with his substitution — and it produced the desired results.

At the offensive end, the Warriors got blistering hot from three point land thanks, in part, to little pressure from New Orleans. Whether due to fatigue or disinterest, no one on the Hornets seemed interested in running at the Warriors shooters — and those shooters made them pay. Williams’ fourth quarter explosion was particularly fun to watch, with the D-Leaguer doing his best Morrow impersonation. The entire team did a nice job, however, working the ball to the hot hand — whether Tolliver in the first or Williams in the fourth.

Monta Ellis may have done a better job running the point during his career, but I can’t remember it. What his impressive assist numbers don’t fully convey is what a nice job he did suckering the defense and spacing the court, giving his teammates open looks. He also managed to get his own points while getting others involved — a major problem earlier in the season. Although Curry missed his first game of the season, I give him some credit as well for helping inject movement into the Warriors offense the past few weeks. Players are starting to move without the ball because they know they’ll be rewarded. Curry had been the one making those passes previously, but Ellis did the same thing in Curry’s absence. For Monta Ellis, this type of positive reinforcement for his selfless performance is a very good sign.

Given the improbability of what we just saw — 3 D-Leaguers outscoring the other 5 players on the Warriors’ roster 69-61 — there’s not much to do other than admire the performance. The D-Leaguers — Williams, Tolliver and Hunter — clearly have a lot to prove, driving them to give tremendous efforts. And Monta Ellis soldiers along as always, turning in the type of do-what-it-takes performances he’s specialized in all year. Mix in hints of defense and rebounding, subtract Corey Maggette, and suddenly this team is significantly more watchable when matched up against an average opponent. My only hope is that next season, when the slate is clean and wins actually matter again, this game isn’t just remembered for the excitement. Without those boring foundational elements of rebounding, interior defense and smart passing, this game would have been just another in the Warriors’ long string of frustrating losses.